Good idea on the footies Jayne! I mostly let mine ripen on the vine too, but I'm trying a new watering schedule this year and don't want to deal with any more split 'maters than I have to - lol. They do taste best vine-ripened.

locakelly said:.... I'm going to check with my good samaritan in San Antonio to see if he can score us some seeds. I'll let you all know...

Kelly, can't we save seeds from our tomatoes? That's what Jayne was telling me. If we save the seeds each year and plant them, the tomato will become 'acclimated' to our climate over time.

How does tomato seed saving work? Just cut the tom open, remove seeds and let them dry? Store till next year? Dry them on a paper towel or what? Help....I need seed savers tips.

http://wintersown.org/wseo1/To...

It is a little more work than that McP but well worth it according to Carl Seacat. And, Charles Wilber in the book How to Grow World Record Tomatoes says to only plant the plump seeds, not the flat ones.

You can save seeds McP if they are open pollinated. The Phoenix tomato is a hybrid and will not come true from seed to the parent plant. You may also get cross pollination with OP varieties and they may not come true either, but the chance is fairly low in my experience even if they are planted in close proximity. I usually try and save seeds from the earliest, best tomatoes to minimize the chance they crossed as well. You can also bag blooms to save seed from as tomatoes are self pollinating. Saving seeds is fun and yes, after a generation or two they will be acclimated to our growing conditions...

Mary,

It's also recommended to ferment the seeds that you wish to save. Dave has an excellent tutorial at DG on this. It's very easy once you see how it's done.

Thanks Peeps!

Gotta love these Phoenix tomatoes! This is today from 2 plants. Big, nice and round, no deformed bottoms. Just a terrific producer. Lots of green ones still there. I'm hoping I can keep these plants alive over the summer.

Here's today's crop. The Heirlooms are pretty deformed and some have soggy bottoms.

Awesome Harold! I really really like the taste of the Phoenix. And the fruit as you say is pretty unblemished. My Heirlooms are funny looking and cracked and delicious - lol...

The Phoenix are determinate plants, so not sure how long they will set fruit. I can tell you mine are still setting fruit and we've been well over 100°. The true test of their heat set abilities will come when our nights stay warm.

I am still on the lookout for seeds for us for next year!

I picked 4 Phoenix toms last week and all had BER. The Zapotec right next to it is producing just fine. I think it was Kelly who told me it's a watering problem. Better do some research.

Right now my Phoenix is the best-looking plant I've got. Setting fruit well, and what's already there seems to be coming along nicely. Good shape, no BER or other diseases, no cracking. Can't wait for them to start getting ripe so we can taste them!

You'll like 'em - they taste really good!

Research told me that BER is a result of a calcium deficiency caused by too little water. IE: the roots cannot take up the calcium without sufficient water. I used my trusty water meter to gauge when to water. Lots of mulch on the beds so I wanted to be careful not to overwater. I'm now thinking that my error was in taking the reading with the meter pushed all the way in, showing moist soil. Maybe I should be measuring closer to the surface? Any comments you tomato growing experts??

I dunno McP... You want to water deep so the roots go deep, so I think measuring with your meter deep is the proper way. In a lot of cases the early fruits are more prone to BER and the plant outgrows it as it matures. There are so many ideas out there as to what causes BER that I kind of take it with a grain of salt... For me, it does seem to be caused by erratic watering. So far this year I'm really not having an issue with BER. Guess my new watering schedule (every 3 days, deep, by hand - lol) is working so far...

I don't no nothin bout no BER. Sometimes I get it...sometimes I don't. Sometimes I think I know what causes it and sometimes evidence says I don't. One thing I know fo sure when it comes to growing maters...it's always sompthin.

I will say I got BER when I had tomatoes in the EBs--and that should have been a perfect solution for watering. It did cut WAY down on the cracking from water uptake. I think what I've read is that when a young plant is growing rapidly, it can't transport the Ca ions fast enough to the developing fruit, and that's what does it. As the plant matures, the uptake rates even out a little better with the growth rates, and the problem corrects itself.

But, just as Jayne says, it's always sompthin!

More Phoenix - waiting on them to ripen. These tomatoes are really good!

cut em now, cut em now....fried green tomatoes!!!

LOL - that sounds like a good idea. Anyone have a recipe? I've eaten 'em but never made 'em!

The recipe calls for deep frying. I saw a recipe recently for green tomato relish.

Alan, I *know* how far you will go for green tomatoes!!!